This stunning specimen with her regal ridges (and small anomaly) is an Apoderoceras ammonite, an extinct genus of cephalopod and active predatory mollusk belonging to the subclass Ammonoidea.

The McAbee fossil beds are known for their incredible abundance, diversity and quality of fossils including lovely plant, insect and fish species that lived in an old lake bed setting 52 million years ago.
It is one of the best local sites in the province to experience a fossil dig first-hand. It's an easy 4 hour drive from Vancouver and easily done as a daytrip. The site was designated a Provincial Heritage Site under British Columbia's Heritage Conservation Act back in July of 2012, then promptly closed to the public.

Horseshoe crabs are classic living fossils. These marine and brackish water arthropods of the order Xiphosura are slowly evolving, conservative taxa.

Many First Nations sites were inhabited continually for centuries. These sites were both home, providing continuity and community and also formed a spiritual connection to the landscape. The day to day activities of each of these communities would much like our own. Babies were born, meals were served and life followed a natural cycle.